/ / Other Avians of Interest \ \

If you like Darkwing Duck, chances are that you'll like other duck characters as well. Cartoon ducks make for very appealing characters in entertainment, for both kids and adults alike. Below is a list of recommended duck characters. You may even recognize a few!

Daisy Duck

... is Donald Duck's sweetheart, and has been since 1940, in the short titled "Mr. Duck Steps Out." Her relative and predecessor, Donna, appeared three years earlier in "Don Donald." Donna was Donald's first girlfriend, but things didn't work out between them. As for Daisy's previous lovelife, according to "Donald's Diary" (1954), she had quite a few boyfriends!

Poor Daisy was never given much attention or much a personality in Disney's early days, acting as a mere foil for Donald, but since the 90's she has become more developed. Though she's a bit ditzy and absent-minded at times, she's strong-willed, intelligent, and possesses a heart of gold. She's one heck of a dancer, and has a feminine and sensual side not unlike a Southern belle or an avian Aphrodite. She also has a nasty temper, so don't cross her! She's best friends with Minnie, and seems to be rather close Mickey nowadays... >;) ... Huh? What are you giving me that look for? It's true! There was a House of Mouse episode where Mickey and Daisy were going to sing a song together about their friendship, and from the lyrics, they sound really close. And there was that short released in 1999 based on William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." (Click here and read the details for yourself-- it's nuts!)

Daisy really loves Donald, though. In "Donald's Dilemma" (1947) Donald receives a blow to the head from a flower pot, changing his personality and his voice entirely. He no longer recognizes Daisy, and he becomes a famous and beloved singer. The insanity Daisy goes through from losing Donald is bitterly tragic: she cannot eat, she hallucinates, she ends up biting her arm after trying to untie her hair ribbon, and she even attempts suicide. (Quite a few of these details are currently censored by Disney.) As was duly noted by some, the short should have been titled, "Daisy's Dilemma."

Sadly, Daisy has been getting terrible publicity lately. From 1999 and onward she is presented as contemptible, annoying, shrill, and just plain b*tchy, which is sad because she has more fans out there than Disney realizes. Curse you, Eisner!

Donald Fauntleroy Duck

... is rumored to be even more popular than Mickey Mouse. One of Disney's classic creations, Donald first starred in a cartoon titled "The Wise Little Hen" in 1934. His co-star in the short, aside from Miss Hen, was Peter Pig, probably Disney's answer to Warner Brothers's Porky Pig. Walt Disney thought Peter would be the next big star, but audiences went crazy for Donald. After that, Mr. Duck moved on to be a co-star in Mickey Mouse cartoons, his first one being "Orphan's Benefit" in 1934. He met his girlfriend, Daisy, in "Don Donald" (1937), when she played a Spanish senorita named Donna. (Wait, didn't I say in Daisy's section that Donna was a relative of hers? Oh, well, whatever...) We also see him put up with his three nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, for the first time in "Donald's Nephews" (1938). He continued to do short cartoons up until 1965, "Donald's Fire Survival Plan," which was a combination of live-action as well as animation. Many years later, in 1983, he co-starred in the animated movie, "Mickey's Christmas Carol," an adaptation of the Dickens classic. In 1989, he appeared in a few "DuckTales" episodes, where he has joined the navy and left his nephews with his uncle Scrooge McDuck, and occasionally pops back every now and then for shore leave. Around 1996, he got his own TV series with his nephews (now teenagers) and Daisy, called "Quack Pack," which was sadly short-lived. In 1999 and 2000, he starred in brand-new animated shorts called "Mickey's Mouseworks." More recently, in 2001, he starred in "Disney's House of Mouse," where he, Mickey, and the rest of the gang run an club for Disney movie characters. The entertainment? Cartoon shorts old and new!

Aside from his film career, Donald has also led a rather prolific comic book career. Donald Duck comics have only recently been re-released in the U.S. after quite a few years of dispute. They are rather popular around the rest of the world though, particularly in Scandinavian countries. In Italy, Donald stars in comics as a superhero named Paperinik, or PK for short. A video game based on the story of PK has been released in 2002, though it doesn't follow the story exactly. (Speaking of video games, Donald has also starred in "Goin' Quackers," a story about how he rescues Daisy from the evil sorceror Merlock, the villain from "DuckTales The Movie.") The PK comics were based on much earlier American comics that told the story of PK (then called "Superduck") a lot differently. But the basic plot remains in any version of PK: Donald develops a secret identity after tiring of the lousy treatment everyone gives him, and his usual unlucky nature turns into something very, very lucky. Hmm... hey Darkwing fans, does that sound familiar to you? Maybe DW's "Clash Reunion" oughta ring a few bells. Personally, I'd think it be great if PK met DW... if only they'd release PK comics in English!!! Someone make a petition, please! I'd gladly sign it. Actually, now that I think about it, the comics were released in English... at least, one or two of them. They were released in Disney Adventures magazine in two different issues, in the comics section. Sadly, I own neither issue. Though instead of calling Donald "PK," they call him Superduck. But PK just sounds so much better, don't you agree? ;)

The Duckman Family

... is the most dysfunctional TV family you'll ever meet. Forget the Simpsons, forget the Griffins from "Family Guy." No human cartoon family can possibly compare with this freaky flock!

Eric Duckman (who prefers to be called by his surname for personal reasons) is the man of the household, but no one ever takes him seriously, not even his own kids. But they have good reason for it - Duckman is irresponsible, lazy, inconsiderate, and pretty much doesn't care about anyone except himself. Well... that's not entirely true. He loves his kids, and wants them to look up to him. But since his wife, Beatrice Huffnagel (not pictured), passed away, he has been entirely clueless as to how to care for them... which is why her twin sister, Bernice, took her place. Bernice is the true household head, always seeing to it that Duckman's sons are well cared for, and that her mother, the comatose and flatulent Grandmama is still alive and receiving sustanance. Whenever Duckman tries to assume authority over Bernice or make excuses for himself, Bernice is well-equipped with ego-popping put-downs that make him look bad in front of his kids (not to mention a pair of thighs that could crush a coconut if things get ugly).

Duckman's children are quite... unique, to say the least. Ajax - the blue-haired teenager - is incredibly stupid. However, he has a big heart; he's one of the only people who still sees his dad for the good in him. He thinks his father could never do any wrong. Charles and Mambo, the twins who share the same body, are the exact opposite. Not only are they total geniuses, but they treat their father like dirt, expressing their superiority over him every chance they get.

Duckman is a detective by trade, but it's his partner, Cornfed (the pig depicted right), who does most of the work. Duckman has a tendency to overlook the obvious and gets into a lot of trouble on his cases, and it's usually up to Cornfed to save him. The same, sadly, applies to at-home situations. Cornfed is just as much of a part of the Duckman family as Duckman because he is everything Duckman isn't - he does everything perfectly and is completely modest about it (which as you can imagine annoys Duckman). In fact, Duckman's kids even prefer Cornfed over their father at times! But Cornfed is more than just Duckman's partner; they are also longtime best friends, and Cornfed will always be there to back up Duckman no matter what.

At his office, Duckman has a pair of secretaries named Fluffy and Uranus, a pair of teddy bears of non-determinate gender (not pictured). They are wide-eyed, cute, and cuddly, and as if that weren't enough, they are politically correct. They annoy the heck out of Duckman, so he kills them every episode. Yes, you read right! But don't worry - there is no blood or guts. They're teddy bears, so they're filled with stuffing, and they come back to life every time.

Fluffy and Uranus may sound bad, but Duckman's worst enemy is King Chicken (not pictured). Duckman used to tease him back in school, so King spent the rest of his life trying to seek revenge, whether it's to kill Duckman or make him suffer. No wonder Bernice is in love with him! O_O;

Reading all this, you might think Duckman is a bad egg. While he may have his bad points, think of it like this: while his morality status is in the toilet, he truly loved his wife Beatrice, the only one who saw him for his true self and understood him... and now she's dead. Duckman is an idealist who just wishes the world wasn't so full of crooked people with deranged ideas of how society should work so they can screw around with him. All he wants is for someone - anyone - to give him a break and let him know he's loved.

Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck

... are Donald's three troublemaking nephews who have undergone complex character changes over the years. They were born as Hubert, Deuteronomy, and Louis to Donald's sister, Della (or Dumbella, as she is also known). We do not know who their father is, but we do know according to the short "Donald's Nephews" (1938) that they lit a firecracker under dear papa's chair. Thus, they were sent off to Donald for him to babysit for a while. The triplets tortured their poor uncle mercilessly, so you can imagine how Donald must have felt when the boys were later left in his care for good. It took a while for Huey, Dewey, and Louie to adjust to being under Donald's care. They were still troublemakers, but they were much less so now that their parents no longer wanted them (which was part of the reason for their change in behavior). Unfortunately, Donald still felt the effects of being their target, and often got back at them for this by taking advantage of them, making fun of them, and pushing them around... even when they hadn't done anything. It was then up to the nephews to teach Donald a lesson in "what goes around comes around." After years of going back and forth like this, they learned from each other how to be a close-knit family. In 1989, Donald signed up for the navy and left the boys under their great-uncle Scrooge McDuck's care ("DuckTales"). Scrooge and the nephews knew each other already, but they didn't get along so well at first. That changed with time, and the family at McDuck manor only grew bigger and closer. When Huey, Dewey, and Louie were teens, Donald left the navy and took them back ("Quack Pack," 1996) for more crazy hijinks together. The triplets were last seen in "Mouseworks" and "House of Mouse" shorts, and have been working as musical performers in the House of Mouse (impersonating the Backstreet Boys and the Smashing Pumpkins). What really irks me though is this: the triplets were invented long before Goofy's son Max, but Max is portrayed in the House of Mouse as much older than the boys (Huey, Dewey, and Louie have just hit puberty, and Max is in college). But THEN in the direct-to-video release, "Disney's Once Upon a Christmas," the triplets are pre-teens, and Max is seven or eight! For goodness sake, Disney, make up your mind! >_

By the way, for those of you who don't know which duckling is who, here's a little rhyme by Dave Smith, Disney's archivist, to help you remember: "Note that the brightest hue of the three (Huey), the color of water, dew, is blue (Dewey), and that leaves Louie, and leaves are green."

Uncle $crooge McDuck

... is Donald Duck's Scottish uncle, and grand-uncle to the Duck triplets. He's richest duck in the world, not to mention the world's biggest tightwad. He travels around the world and even into space to collect treasures and artifacts to add to his extensive wealth, taking many risks and pulling out all the stops to reach his goal. His career at Disney began in a comic book story titled, "Christmas On Bear Mountain," printed in 1947. His purpose was to only be a gag character, but he evolved into something much more and became one of the most popular Disney characters on the planet. $crooge's comic book career led him into getting his own title on the shelves. Like Donald, he's particularly popular in Scandinavia. Due to a few years of controversy, his comics weren't available in the U.S. for a while, only just recently returning. $crooge's first animation appearance was made in the opening credits for the Mickey Mouse Club. His first cartoon was "Scrooge McDuck and Money" (1967), featuring himself and the triplets in an informational, "musical lesson on money, banking, investing, and saving." He next starred as Ebenezer Scrooge in "Mickey's Christmas Carol" in 1983. In 1987, in the short "Sport Goofy in Soccermania," $crooge organizes a sports team, led by Goofy, to win back a million-dollar trophy he donated to the triplets for their soccer tournament.

It was only a year later that $crooge's fame took an amazing upward plunge, in the series "DuckTales." Donald left Huey, Dewey, and Louie in his care while Donald served for the navy. $crooge wasn't thrilled about the idea of kids in his mansion, but he quickly learned that they were something he could never do without - family. And with the additions that kept coming, that family only grew and grew! In 1999, $crooge played roles in "Mickey's Mouseworks" versions of "Around the World in 80 Days," and "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Most recently, he appeared in "Disney's Once Upon a Christmas" in a segment also featuring Donald, Daisy, the triplets, and Aunt Gertrude Goose (previously a comic book character).

Many of $crooge's fans are largely interested in the history of his life and of the McDuck clan. $crooge is the last of the McDucks, and his story of rags to riches through blood, sweat, and tears is the stuff of legends. (Though not quite as legendary as his love life... hoo-boy!) $crooge is as rich in experience as he is in cash, and it is this depth that makes him so likeable. True, he won't be the first in line to donate to charity, but who can resist an adventure with a old Scottish adventurer who can afford absolutely anything, and is as tough as nails to boot?